Website Features: Hokkaido 2020 ~ our dream to open up a Nihon Goshin Aikido Dojo
in Chistose by 2020. Vintage Pictures of Kuma Station ~ the Army base Shihan Bowe
was stationed at when he was in Japan.

Seminars: New Jersey every Saturday, South Carolina in April, and Georgia in June

New Nihon Goshin Aikido Study Group Opening Up in North Central CT/ Western MA Under
Mike Murphy’s Leadership

Announcements: Got a rank promotion, opening a new dojo, hosting a seminar, etc.,?
Let us know, and we’ll spread the word

Greetings Nihon Goshin Aikido Aficionado!

May has arrived, and with it good weather. It's time to get my boat ready for the
summer season. In the last few weeks, I've found myself looking at the water more
and more when I drive across the Lake Murray Dam during my daily commute to get the
boys to and from gymnastics practice. On the way to last Thursday's practice, I
asked out loud, “Why am I not out there on the lake today? Look at that water.”

I looked at Ben in the passengers seat and said, “Look at that water Ben! It's as
smooth as glass.” From the back seat, our newest and youngest gymnast, Jackson,
chimed in, “Dad! You say that every day!”

Apparently I talk to myself a little bit more than I think I do.

On a related front, I was speaking with Jackson's gymnastics coach today and I asked
him this question, “Do you think he will be ready to skip the beginner level of competition
this fall.”

He replied, “We want him to. We tell all the boys, 'there are no levels in the summer
- it's about working hard & getting new skills. When the summer is over, we put them
where we think they'll be the most successful. He's still got plenty of time, but
he doesn't want to skip a level just because we want him to skip the level. He wants
to be ready, and we want him to know that he is ready.”

As I think about both of those situations, I marvel at how similar they are. In
both instances ~ I want something that is slightly ahead of where I am currently.

Although my heart is in the right place, I'm no where near ready to head out on the
lake. My problem is the vessel. The boat needs work ~ as it always does this time
of year (for various and sundry reasons). This year, the neighborhood rats decided
they liked the idea of living on a “house boat” over the winter, and moved into my
newly restored Ski Nautique. In the process of getting comfy ~ they completely destroyed
most of the newly recovered deck furniture, and a ton of the electrical wiring. Apparently
rats think the insulation around a spark plug wire is food. While I've poisoned
all the rats, replacing nearly every wire in the boat will take awhile.

So ~ things get held up... but we press on ~ we must make the decision to fight on
when times get tough. On a related front, I used to have a 300 pound bench press
~ as recently as just a few months ago. Then I tweaked my shoulder some how (Come
Along Throw/ Pivot Take Down/ Arm Over Shoulder/ ~~~~ insert shoulder devastating
technique here), and my left shoulder has been acting up ever since. The result
is that I've not been as strong on the bench press, and my numbers are down on that
lift.

Now the standing question for anyone who works out is, “How much do you bench?” Historically
when someone would ask me, “How much do you bench?” ~ I'd usually downplay the question
and joke it off ~ often pretending to not even understand what they were asking me.
Occasionally I'd give them a ridiculously low number, like 95 pounds.

Of course, with the injury I'm struggling a little bit on this exercise. So the
last time someone asked me, I went away from my typical set of responses, and told
him, “I bench about 300 pounds” ~ which was true in January, but not true today!
Why am I so insecure about this issue? My current bench is not horrible (285-ish);
it's just not as solid as it used to be.

I think all these things are related somehow. To me, it seems that our situation
is constantly never exactly the way we want it to be.

Last year we got a Lakeland Terrier puppy, who has become an unbelievable athlete.
Even though she stands just 18 inches off the ground, she is able to clear the 5
foot fence around our yard at will. Numerous times, I've had calls about Ella swimming
in our next door neighbor's pool. Then she got into a neighbor's garage who was
storing 2 vintage Corvettes. She was jumping up on the hoods of the cars for fun.
At this point, it was quite obvious that I had to build a higher fence.

In the process of tearing down one perfectly functional fence, and replacing it with
a taller fence, my dad wanted to know if I planned on staining the fence to protect
the wood. I said, “Dad, I don't need the fence to outlive me, I just need it to
outlive the dog.” Then my Dad said, “Well son, those numbers might not be too far
apart. If the dog lives to be 15, you'll be 64 years old when she dies.” Thanks
Dad! Now I'm old too!

Onward!

Last month, I built a new computer system, and as you might expect, the computer
program that I use to develop my website is having trouble finding things on the
new hard drive ~ as they are no longer “where” they used to be. If anyone has any
experience with this kind of thing, please contact me ~ as I'm L-O-S-T!

All that said, in the interest of circulating a timely newsletter, and with great
optimism that I will be able to address these issues by next month, I will close
here.

In lieu of a full blown article or two embedded inside the monthly rag, I decided
to feature a couple of older articles, and let you head off and explore the rest
of the site on your own. Did you know that there is more information on aikido at
ngaexperience.com than you can shake a stick ~~~~ er Bokken ~~~ at?

Wishing you all the best on this glorious day in May.

God Speed, and let's meet together on the mat ~ and soon.

Jonathan Wilson

ngaexperience.com

Real Fight Breakdowns

http://www.ngaexperience.com/realfightbreakdowns.html

An Analysis of Steven Seagal's Aikido Style

http://www.ngaexperience.com/stevenseagalsaikido.html

A Traditional Aikikai Guy Visits A Nihon Goshin Aikido Dojo and Writes A Review About
His Experience

http://www.ngaexperience.com/akikaivisitsngadojo.html

Revisiting the Hakama

http://www.ngaexperience.com/hakamamarketing.html

3. Website Features:

We’ve got a whole section on the website featuring pictures of Kuma Station, the
Army base Shihan Bowe was stationed at in Chitose, Japan? I found a cache of photos
on the internet which were taken during the same period of time that Shihan was stationed
there. I find these pictures compelling. Click here.

We plan to go back to Chitose one day! Read my vision statement called, “Hokkaido
2020” ~ a dream to establish a Nihon Goshin Aikido dojo in Hokkaido by 2020. Click
Here.

4. Seminar Announcements:

A. Spartanburg, SC (April 16, 2016): Instructors will be Nihon Goshin Aikido Sensies
John Wyndham (Host Instructor, Spartanburg, SC), John Carter (Lexington, SC), and
Joe Beckham (Greenville, SC). Cost is $75 to preregister, or $100 at the door. Time
is 9:00 am - 3:45 pm. Click Here for more information, and to register.

B. Covington, GA (June 3 - 4, 2016): There will be a Nihon Goshin Aikido Seminar
at the Covington, GA dojo. Sensei MacEwen will be the primary instructor. The dates
are the first weekend in June, so mark your calendars. The cost of this two day
workshop is only $89 total, so don’t miss it. Click Here for more information,
and to register.

C. Edgewater, NJ (Every Saturday) Time is from 1:00 - 2:30 & 2:30 - 4:00 pm beginning
this Saturday. Sensei Jose Garrido will be teaching Daitō-ryu Aikijujutsu at the
UFC gym in Edgewater, NJ. Cost is only $20 per class o $30 for both, but you must
let Sensei Garrido know you are coming at least one day in advance. I think this
is a special opportunity. I always talk about the importance of gaining a better
understanding of our art and its roots. Sensei Garrido is uniquely positioned to
bridge Daitō-ryu and Nihon Goshin Aikido for those Nihon Goshin Aikido brown and
black belts who might have an interest in exploring their martial history. Click
Here for more information, and to register.

5. New Study Group Leader in North Central CT/ Western MA.

Mike Murphy, a Nihon Goshin Aikido sho-dan under Sensei MacEwen, is beginning a Nihon
Goshin Aikido study group in the North Central CT/ Western MA area. Please forward
this information to everyone you know in that area so that they can begin their training
in our great art. You can contact Sensei Murphy by email here, or via our website
here.

6. Newsletter Subscribers:

More subscribers is the goal ~ so can you help us grow our Newsletter Subscription
Base by passing the website along to your training buddies and asking them to subscribe
also? It makes for good conversations as there’s nothing like sitting around the
water cooler in the dojo and lambasting me for all the stupid things I’ve written
over the course of this newsletter!

Our hope is to be an inter-dojo clearing house for all things NGA, but we need more
subscribers to do that. Best of all, it’s free, and who doesn’t like the word “free!”
Click Here to Subscribe! (And make sure you forward this link to all your training
buddies, and would be training buddies).

7. Announcements:

Do you have an announcement? If so, we would like to share your information on Seminars,
Dojo Expansions, Relocations, Grand Openings, Promotions, and/or Other Information
with our subscribers. Please forward all of your announcements to us so we can get
the word out. Send us the information on your announcement, and we’ll post it here
for you.

Unless otherwise stated, the author’s views, musings, and opinions do not necessarily
reflect the attitude of leadership within any of the various Nihon Goshin Aikido
associations, or unaffiliated Nihon Goshin Aikido dojos.